“There has been some controversy over the use of the manuscript to represent the actual words of Jesus, but it is clear from what Gaskill states that he is representing this message as possible-but-unproven preaching from the Savior. Readers can enjoy the message pertaining to the power and glory of womanhood but should reserve judgment on the veracity of the documents used as the core of the message until more is known.”

It turns out that back in the 1980s the Unknown Life of Jesus had already been discussed as a fake in the edited volume, Apocryphal Writings and the Latter-day Saints, published by the BYU Religious Studies Center. See Richard Anderson’s chapter in the volume. He refers to this and other texts as “modern frauds [that] have no documentary connection to antiquity.”

Why is it that we as a people seem to be easily misled along these lines, despite repeated warnings? It’s like for some reason we’re locked into a pre-critical understanding of biblical literature and cannot tell the difference between what’s ancient and what’s not. Go figure.